Don't Close Your Eyes (Don't Look Series Book 2), page 2
Taryn hunkers down on my other side. Wraps her arm around my back and holds on tight. “We heard a shout and came running. Are you okay? Do we need to take you to the hospital?”
I let out a low cough, wishing my lungs would cooperate. “I’m okay. Someone stole my phone. I think they were looking for money, but I didn’t have any on me.”
Karen frowns, exchanging a glance with Justin. There’s something in that look I do not like.
“What? What is it?”
Sometimes I really love that Karen is a no-nonsense woman. Squaring her shoulders, she meets my eyes. “This doesn’t feel right. Your name and face are still plastered all over the news. It smells like more than a coincidence.”
My head shakes vehemently, but I have to stop when my stomach threatens to spill over. “No. No, it was nothing. Some deadbeat took my phone. That’s all. They didn’t hurt me. I’m okay.” I don’t mention the voice modulator. Because what low-life carries one of those around in case they get the chance to commit petty theft?
One hand on the holster at his hip, Justin extends his free hand. “Let’s get you back inside, and then we can talk about it.”
I bite my lip. Let him pull me to standing.
Nearby, a siren squawks. Red and blue lights flash as a patrol car pulls to a stop blocking the alley. A female deputy gets out and pushes through the gawkers toward where we’re standing. Her partner pushes the bystanders back and away from the grimy hole I’m in.
I sag against the wall, grateful my audience is gone for now. “I’m fine. Seriously.”
Stepping forward, Noah holds out a glass dripping with condensation. “Are you thirsty?”
“My throat feels as dry as a beached whale’s,” I take the glass and sip the cool liquid. Shivering, I hand it back.
Noah nods when I thank him, his expression tense.
Sheriff Lamb comes clomping back from the far side of the alley, his hat dangling from one hand. Going straight to the deputy, he starts giving orders. Something about a perimeter and a sweep of the nearby parks and walking trails. Once the deputy is gone, Lamb turns to my little group. “Sorry to say they got away. It’s pretty cold out here, so let’s go back inside. We need to talk.”
My churning blood turns to ice.
Once we’re all inside the house, I sink onto the couch and wait. Dread, my old companion, comes slithering out of whatever shadowed corner it’s been hiding in the past couple of months. Tension plucks at my nerves like a talentless hack torturing a guitar. Out of pitch, my nerves make my teeth grit. I think I’m going to be sick.
I insisted everyone come here for our little chat. The stares of everyone in the diner made my ears burn. If the sheriff has more bad news, I do not want to hear it when I’m sitting in one of the red booths being scrutinized by literally everyone in town.
I’m on the couch, with Taryn and Esau on one side and Noah on the other. Noah leans to one side, retrieving his phone from his jeans pocket to take a look when it dings. His jaw clenches as he puts it away. His every movement is stiff, like he doesn’t want to be here.
“You can leave if you want to.”
His eyes skirt to mine. “It’s fine.”
I am not reassured.
Sheriff Lamb removes his cowboy hat the second he steps inside, his boots clomping over the tile and muffling on the carpet as he moves into the living room.
Glancing over my shoulder to make sure the blinds are closed, I take a long drag of the hot chocolate. It scalds my throat all the way down. My knuckles strain around the ceramic mug. Suddenly, I’m livid. Hot anger courses through me like a wildfire through underbrush after a drought. I was just starting to heal from my ordeal with the Gemini Killer. Settling into life in Hacienda. Making strides with my therapist. Finally feeling safe enough to explore and take some photos without constantly feeling like I was being stalked.
One chance encounter with a sleazeball mugger and I’m back to constantly checking over my shoulder. I wish I could close my eyes and forget the last half hour. Instead, it’s one more tick in the litany of traumas I’ve gone through in the last few months.
“Bunch of crap,” I mutter under my breath.
“What?” Noah asks, his eyes round with concern behind his black plastic glasses.
“This is crap.” I say it louder, making the three adults turn. My resolve hardening, I stand. “This is total and utter crap. I’m not going to be terrorized by some idiot looking for their next fix. They stole my phone. So what. A phone is replaceable. It’s over and done in a day.”
The air vents rattle as the heat comes on, slowly cutting the chill from the air. Taryn tried to take my coat and hang it up when we got inside, but I wouldn’t let her. Having the extra layer feels a little like wearing armor, and based on the sheriff’s grim expression where he stands a few feet away whispering with Karen and Justin, I’m going to need the protection.
The sheriff clears his throat, his cowboy hat hanging slack from one hand. “It’s either a huge coincidence, in which case you have lousy luck, or it wasn’t. And my gut is telling me it wasn’t.”
My bravado wavers, but I fight to keep it. “Why—why not?”
Lamb holds out his hand, palm up, revealing a small device.
“A voice modulator,” Justin murmurs.
There it is—the other shoe. It drops with a thud onto the creaky wooden floor.
Lamb glances at Karen, who gives a bracing nod. His attention returns to me. He makes a sound between a sigh and a groan. “I was headed to the diner tonight to let you know we received a threatening note. Well, a journalist at the paper received it. Could be nothing, but in my experience it wouldn’t be smart to underestimate something like this, especially when it has to do with a witness in a high-profile serial murder case like yours.”
Taryn stands, grasping my hand in both of hers and squeezing tight.
A beat goes by when I can’t think. It’s like my brain jutters to a stop and takes a second to rev its engine to life again.
Noah takes my other hand gently. I wish he’d hold on tight and never let go, but he won’t. Still, the anchoring he and Taryn provide allows my mind to clear of everything but the pressure points in my palms. Both hubs of contact are all that keep me upright. This cannot be happening.
“What does that have to do with me?” I say, my words sharp.
The sheriff sucks his teeth, weighing me with piercing eyes. He must make a decision, because he takes a folded slip of paper out of his pocket. When he unfolds it I realize it’s two sheets. “The note was attached to the article.” He hands them both over.
The first is a copy of an article stating the verdict of Mr. Baugh’s trial, highlighting my testimony. I’ve read it already, so I shuffle it behind the photocopied note. It takes me a second to get past the medium to the actual message. But when I do, my heart stops.
The second sheet is a photocopy of what can only be described as a murder note. It’s made up of letters cut from magazines. Blocky ones. Cursive ones. Symbols standing in for others. I didn’t think anybody made these in real life, much less actually sent them.
Pay attention, it reads. I’m gonna show you what bloody havoc I can wreak.
My gaze cuts from the note to my twin—the white line bisecting her cheek.
Chapter 3
Day 247, Saturday
The wind makes the trees bluster and blow, and the few dead leaves that remain on the ground eddy and swirl. Sighing, I tear my gaze away from the car window.
Taryn shoots a grin my way. “Thinking about Noah again?”
My cheeks go hot. “No.”
She laughs, adjusting her grip on the steering wheel. Her face twists into an exaggerated grin that makes her look like a brainwashed Barbie. “Yeah you are. Whenever you think about him you make this goofy smile. Everyone has noticed. It’s cute.”
“Ugh. I do not. Who’s everyone?”
Taryn makes a left turn, glancing in her rearview. “Esau, the girls. Even Dariel asked me why you kept making that face.”
I grimace. “Great. Survive a serial killer only to die from shame.” And okay, it is embarrassing. But I can’t stop the warm feeling that spreads through me when I realize that I have a ton of friends who noticed and actually asked my sister about it. It… feels good. Really good.
“So, what are you going to do?”
I stare at my twin. “I don’t know.”
She gives me an unimpressed look, one eyebrow arching. “Ask him out. We were supposed to go on a double date, but it never happened. Make it happen.”
I slump a little. “It’s not that easy. I’ve been waiting for him to show some interest. Sometimes, I think I see it in his eyes, but then it fades and I’m left second-guessing it.”
“It would help if he wasn’t constantly having to babysit. His parents work too much.”
“They have to.” I defend Mr. and Mrs. Lopez, but I agree. They work a ton, and it seems like they ask Noah to babysit nearly every day. I try not to judge, though, because they have responsibilities I don’t.
“Good thing you’re looking for a job. Then you’ll have some money and you can take Noah out instead of waiting for him to make a move.”
I don’t bother to stifle my groan. “I wish he’d just tell me how he feels. That’d be so much simpler.”
“He likes you. It’s obvious to literally everyone. You two are darling together.”
“You make us sound like puppies.” I pull my hair from behind my ears to hide my face.
“If the moniker fits…”
“You’re the worst.”
She winks as she pulls into the grocery store parking lot. It’s the largest building in the strip mall, flanked by a shoe repair shop, laundromat, mattress store, and a nail salon. “Here we are. Go on in.”
“Thanks. Wish me luck.”
She opens her mouth, and my hand hovers over the door latch. “Try not to worry, okay? Lamb said they’d be on the lookout for someone in a Baywatch hoodie.” She mimes running in slow motion, just like they did in the show. “Plus, the sheriff said they were going to try to trace the phone’s location to find the thief. If they find them, they’ll be able to figure out if they sent the note.”
“All they’ll have to do is check their garbage for massacred magazines.” I crack a smile. “I’m so glad you weren’t murdered.”
Flicking her blond ponytail—Karen let her dye it back after the truth came out about there being two of us—Taryn releases her seat belt. “Thanks. Me too. I’m too pretty to die.”
Coming to the grocery store on a Saturday was a mistake. There are people in every aisle. I have to dodge a bunch of carts just to reach the service desk that runs along the front wall of the building. I press myself against the counter so a woman with two overflowing carts can get past me. I ring the bell and wait for the store manager to appear.
“Hey, Audrey!”
When I turn, Viv is drawing closer pushing a full cart of bagged groceries.
I offer to help her take everything to her car.
“That would be great. I may have overshot it a little this time.” Laughing, she steers the cart out of the store.
We pile the bags into the trunk of Viv’s car.
“How’s the job hunt going? You try the diner?” She slams the trunk shut before stuffing her hands into the pockets of her puffer coat. She rolls her eyes when I shake my head.
“They said they wanted someone with more experience.”
“That’s bull. They hired me, so…”
We both laugh. I lean against the car’s bumper. “Your mom still acting weird?”
“Yep. She got all dressed up to go out last night, so I’m pretty sure my guess was right. New boyfriend.”
“Think she’ll introduce you?” I scan across the lot to where Taryn is hunkered down in our car, probably texting Esau.
Viv shakes her head. “Mom’s seen and read so many horror stories, working at the paper, that she’s super cautious about who she introduces me to. I’ve only met one guy, and that was only because she thought he was going to propose. Whoever the new one is, I probably won’t ever even hear his name.”
“I’m glad Karen and Justin aren’t like that. They’ve ramped up the PDA now that they’re engaged and everything, which is a little weird, but the sneaking around was definitely worse. Mostly.”
Viv laughs. “I’m used to it. Lemme say hi to Taryn.” She meanders toward where Karen’s car is parked next to one of the spindly, naked trees.
Bracing myself, I go back inside to talk to the store manager.
I’m still unemployed when I come out of the grocery store. The manager took one look at my mostly blank résumé and said, “We’re not hiring right now.” He didn’t even let me get a word out. I’ll never earn enough money for new camera equipment if no one will even give me an interview. Frustration makes my feet stomp over the gravelly pavement. Throwing the car door open, I stuff myself inside. The door slams shut.
“Any luck?”
My glare stops my twin from asking any more questions. Instead, she maneuvers the car toward home. Her hands are tight on the wheel as she steers, unwilling to shift her hand position.
“Did something happen while I was inside?”
She shakes her head, her eyes glued to the road ahead of her. “No. I saw some jackass in a hood taking photos of you and Viv, so I got out of the car and told them to stop. It was probably some gossip hound looking for photos to sell to the tabloids. The whole vibe was strange. Anyway, they ran off.”
My spidey senses are tingling. It could have been some low-life gossip columnist, just like she said, but it doesn’t sit right in my gut. I’ve ignored my instincts too much in the past to let anything slide. “Did you get a good look at them?”
“That’s the weird part. They were wearing a huge black hoodie, sunglasses, and a scarf wrapped around their face. I didn’t think it was that cold out, but…”
“Red light.”
“I see it.” She slows the car to a stop.
Chewing on my lip, I debate saying anything. “Could it have been a middle-aged guy? You know, like the third Baugh brother?” I found out from Noah a few days ago while we were hanging out, that after the mugging, he did some digging into Robert Baugh but didn’t find much.
“No. Audrey, we talked about that. The FBI didn’t find even a whiff of evidence that that guy was anywhere near any of the crime scenes. Can you please let it go?”
I huff. Everything Taryn is saying is correct. Justin and Karen looked into Robert Baugh after Albert was killed and John was arrested. There was nothing connecting him to the Gemini killings, or me, personally. But it hurt that Taryn didn’t even try to understand. That Robert Baugh is still a lose end, like a bit of food caught between my teeth. An irritation I’d like to be rid of. I didn’t push it because I didn’t want her to shut me out like she did all those months. It hurt more than I can say.
“Noah was just trying to help,” I say, wrangling my tone into a calm cadence. “You don’t have to bite my head off for it.”
“Sorry.”
“About the dude taking photos of me and Viv. What if they were hiding their face on purpose?”
“What—that’s absurd. It’s cold out, that’s all.”
“You just said it wasn’t that cold.”
“I changed my mind. It is cold, which makes a lot more sense than whatever you’re implying.” Taryn shoots me a look, but I push harder.
“That someone hid their face in order to take photos of me?”
“Come on. We’re old news. Why would anyone do that now?”
“Oh, I don’t know, because they’re obsessed and want to torment me?”
“The Gemini Killer is dead, Audrey. Albert Baugh is dead. Want me to show you where he’s buried? Because I know. I made Karen take me to the gravesite.”
My jaw drops. Something cold and hard expands inside me. Wariness forged into the sharpest blade. I had no idea Taryn had gone there. When Karen asked if I wanted to go, I refused. I hadn’t wanted to see it, thinking that seeing his name, knowing where he was buried would make him more concrete in my mind. Not less. And I desperately needed him to be less.
Taryn yanks the wheel, making a quick right turn. The car behind us honks, but she waves them off with an apology they can’t hear. She takes the main road through town toward the other side. Oh God, she’s actually doing it.
The blade inside me twists, making me suck in a shallow breath. “No. Taryn, don’t. I don’t want to see it.”
“Maybe you should. Maybe it’ll help you move past it once and for all. See? This is why I told Noah not to tell you he’d looked into Robert Baugh. I knew it would bring up all sorts of crap you weren’t ready to deal with.”
My heart plummets into my favorite Converse. She’s still treating me as the twin who needs to be shielded and protected. Younger. Lesser. I can’t believe my own sister told Noah to hide information from me. That she thought herself superior enough that she would know what I need more than I do. That she would try to take the choice away from me. My nostrils flare.
“I am not a baby to be protected from the big bad world, Taryn.”
“Oh really? Then why are you freaking out about some overzealous journalist in a parking lot?”
I pause for a deep breath. I don’t want to fight about this. “I don’t know. Because I was stalked and kidnapped?”
“I was stalked and kidnapped too, and it was indescribably awful, but it’s over. He’s dead. I’ll show you.” She slams on the breaks and kills the engine.
My hands clench when I realize where I am. I was so busy arguing with Taryn that I didn’t see that she brought me to the exact place I didn’t want to go. The cemetery. My attacker’s body is buried somewhere in this expanse of green spotted with gray headstones that stick out of the ground like rows and rows of jagged teeth. Reaching over, I relock the car door. Cemeteries have always creeped me out. “I’m not going out there.”
I’m surprised when Taryn doesn’t argue. Instead, she sits quietly in her seat, eyes skimming over the cemetery.
